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(Harare) – The Zimbabwe government’s failure to carry out legal and electoral reforms threatens the credibility of national elections scheduled for July 30, 2018. Despite President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s repeated promises that elections will be free and fair, the ability of voters to freely choose their leaders is in serious doubt.

Human Rights Watch research in May, including interviews across the country, found that security force involvement in the electoral process, abusive laws that remain in effect, and violence and intimidation by the ruling party all contribute to an environment that is not conducive to free and fair elections.

“President Mnangagwa needs to go beyond mere rhetoric and take genuine steps to level the playing field for all candidates and their parties,” said Dewa Mavhinga, Southern Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “A key test will be whether state media give equal coverage and access to all political parties without bias or favor.”

Zimbabwe’s military and other state security forces have for many years interfered in the nation’s political and electoral affairs, adversely affecting the right of Zimbabweans to vote for the candidates of their choice. Mnangagwa and his administration should level the electoral playing field by preventing the military from engaging in partisan politics or interfering in electoral processes, and taking strong action to deter violence and intimidation by the military during the campaign period and elections. The military leadership should publicly demonstrate its commitment to a fair election process and not interfere with the outcome of the vote.

The role of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, which is charged with overseeing the 2018 election process, is also of particular concern. The commission has not demonstrated independence or impartiality. At least 15 percent of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s secretariat are serving or former military officials. The military should help make the commission more independent and professional by removing serving military officers from the body, Human Rights Watch said.

The government’s failure to repeal or significantly revise key laws or to address the partisan conduct of the police further undercuts free elections. Repressive laws needing reform include the Public Order and Security Act, the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act. All of these laws have been used to arrest peaceful protesters and censor critical media. The lack of reform places a greater burden on the police to ensure that the rights to freedom of association and peaceful assembly are respected during the campaign period.

Human Rights Watch research found widespread intimidation, harassment, and threats of violence mainly by supporters of the ruling ZANU-PF party to coerce members of the public to hand over their voter registration slips and commit to vote for ZANU-PF. Party members have intimidated voters by reminding them of violence during past elections and threatening to withdraw food aid if they did not vote for ZANU-PF, Human Rights Watch found. Between March 24 and April 1, a domestic human rights group, Heal Zimbabwe Trust, recorded 31 human rights violations in 17 districts relating to the election campaign. The group described intimidation and forced attendance at political gatherings, including by school children, and disruption of opposition political gatherings.

Incidents of political violence and intimidation characterized the primary elections in May 2018 to choose parliamentary election candidates in the ZANU-PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC-T) party. The MDC-T appears to have established a militia-type, uniformed youth group called the Vanguard, which was implicated in several cases of violence against the former party deputy president Thokozani Khupe and her supporters who have since formed a rival faction of the party.

All political parties should ensure that their members act peacefully, allowing others to associate freely and express themselves no matter their political views, and permit citizens to vote without fear of violence, Human Rights Watch said.

Zimbabwe has an obligation to allow each citizen to vote in genuine periodic elections, as provided under the country’s constitution, and guaranteed in international and African human rights conventions that Zimbabwe has ratified. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections, to which Zimbabwe is a party, call for full participation of citizens in the political process, freedom of association, political tolerance, equal opportunity for all political parties to access the state media, independence of the judiciary, independence of the media, impartiality of the electoral institutions, and voter education.

Careful monitoring of the election and the campaign throughout the country is especially important considering the need for legal and electoral reforms, Human Rights Watch said. The Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union, the European Union, and other groups should provide competent international observers to monitor the campaign period and elections. The Zimbabwe government should ensure that all electoral observers can move freely throughout the country and can access all legislation, regulations, and institutions governing the electoral process, consistent with the SADC Principles and Guidelines.

“As Zimbabwe’s elections draw close, the government needs to ensure that conditions are right for people to vote for candidates of their choice in an environment that is free of intimidation, fear, and violence,” Mavhinga said. “President Mnangagwa should act to ensure credible, free, and fair elections.” 

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Today is the World Day Against Child Labor, and this year’s theme highlights the global need to improve the health and safety of young workers and eradicate hazardous child labor.

Worldwide, about 73 million children work in hazardous conditions. The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates a staggering 22,000 children are killed at work every year. Children who work often miss out on an education, and studies show they are less likely to find decent-paying jobs as adults. Human Rights Watch has documented the risks child workers face in agriculture, mining, the apparel industry, and other sectors.

On tobacco farms in Zimbabwe, Indonesia, and the United States, Human Rights Watch found that child workers face significant health risks from exposure to nicotine and toxic pesticides. Last year, we spoke to 15-year-old “Davidzo” who worked on a Zimbabwe tobacco farm. “The first day I started working in tobacco, that’s when I vomited.” He said he felt especially sick when he carried the harvested leaves. “I started to feel like I was spinning,” he said. “Since I started this [work], I always feel headaches and I feel dizzy.”

Like Davidzo, many child workers told us they experienced nausea, vomiting, headaches, and dizziness – all symptoms consistent with nicotine poisoning – after handling tobacco leaves. Children are particularly vulnerable to toxic chemicals because their bodies are developing.

In small-scale gold mines in Ghana, Mali, Tanzania, and the Philippines, Human Rights Watch documented how children work in underground pits, and have sometimes been killed when pits collapsed. Children use toxic mercury to process gold, without being aware that mercury can cause brain damage, and even kill.

Governments should take comprehensive action to regulate industries to prevent child labor, and businesses should conduct human rights due diligence, including monitoring child labor throughout their supply chains. Unfortunately, at present, governments and companies do not do enough to ensure rights are respected in supply chains, as our recent work on 13-well known jewelry companies shows. We found most companies are unable to identify where their gold and diamonds are sourced.

Human rights law leaves space for children older than 15 to work, as long as the jobs are safe and do not interfere with schooling – such work might actually benefit them. But no child should ever have to suffer injury, illness, pain, or even death in a dangerous workplace. We owe it to kids to protect them from these perils.

Next week (June 18-22) the European Union hosts governments, the diamond industry, and nongovernmental groups in the diamond-trading city of Antwerp to take stock of the Kimberley Process, the certification process set up nearly two decades ago to end the trade in “blood diamonds.” But the Kimberley Process is not up to the task. The European Union-currently the chair of the Kimberley Process-should push for change to improve the protection of human rights starting with mining and throughout the entire supply chain.

Far away from Antwerp, villagers in Zimbabwe recently faced a violent crackdown by police and soldiers. Why? They were protesting because they believe that state-run companies have looted billions of dollars in revenue from local diamond mines with no benefit to their community. Residents say security force personnel beat women with batons, fired live ammunition into the air, and fired tear gas canisters to disperse the demonstrators-sending three children to the hospital.

Zimbabwe’s diamond mines have a long history of human rights abuses. Armed forces killed more than 200 people when the military first seized control of the mines in 2008 and have coerced children and adults into forced labour. In April, local organizations reported that security guards had handcuffed local miners and unleashed attack dogs on them.

Yet, diamonds from Zimbabwe are exported legally into the international market under the Kimberley Process. Diamonds tainted by abuse-in Zimbabwe or elsewhere-can still reach the global diamond market easily. The Kimberley Process is narrowly focused on curbing abuses perpetrated by armed groups, ignoring those of state actors. It also lacks an independent monitoring system to check if the necessary customs controls are actually in place. Finally, the Kimberley Process only applies to rough diamonds, allowing stones that are fully or partially cut and polished to fall outside the scope of the initiative.

This needs to change. At the Kimberley Process “intersessional” meeting in Antwerp this week, delegates should seek to strengthen human rights protection in diamond supply chains, including by expanding the Kimberley Process definition of conflict diamonds.

Under international standards, companies need to have due diligence safeguards in place to identify and respond to human rights risks throughout their supply chain. Yet, many jewelry companies do not live up to these standards. Human Rights Watch recently scrutinized the diamond sourcing practices of 13 leading jewelry and watch brands, whose combined annual revenue totals about US$30 billion. We found that many companies point to their compliance with the Kimberley Process as evidence that their diamonds are “responsibly sourced,” but take limited action to identify forced labor or other human rights risks in their diamond supply chains.

Companies and governments need to do much more to ensure human rights are protected. The Kimberley Process should adopt a wider definition of “conflict diamonds” to address abuses like those seen in Marange,  and establish an independent monitoring system and ensure more rigorous controls. Jewelry companies, diamond traders, and cutters and polishers need to take responsibility, too, and establish robust human rights safeguards throughout their supply chain, to ensure they are not linked to or contributing to human rights abuses in Marange or anywhere else.

Harare under lockdown as security forces ask people to leave the city ahead of expected announcement of presidential election results today. 

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(Harare) – The Zimbabwe government should immediately and impartially investigate the use of force by security forces to clamp down on post-election protests in Harare on August 1, 2018. Soldiers and anti-riot police were implicated in the deaths of at least six people and serious injuries to dozens more.

Human Rights Watch witnessed the chaos on the streets of Harare, when hundreds of soldiers and anti-riot police were deployed across the city, as residents awaited the result of the July 30 national elections. Scores of soldiers patrolled on foot, indiscriminately beating anyone in sight as two helicopters in military camouflage colors flew several times over the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance party headquarters. The police confirmed the death of six people, though there are fears that the death toll could be higher.

“The heavy-handed response to Zimbabwe’s post-election protests, including firing live ammunition, suggests that the security forces are as abusive as ever,” said Dewa Mavhinga, Southern Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Prompt, credible investigations are needed so that those responsible can be held to account and future violence is avoided.”

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who initially blamed the MDC opposition party for the violence, later posted a message on Twitter calling for “an independent investigation into what occurred in Harare” and saying that “those responsible should be identified and brought to justice.”

A witness told Human Rights Watch that a uniformed soldier shot one woman – Sylvia Maposa – in the back between her shoulders as she was heading home from work in Harare late in the afternoon. Maposa, who was not among the protesters, collapsed and died on the spot. Other witnesses said they saw a member of the security forces shoot a 45-year-old man in the stomach at Fourth Street, east of Harare, killing him instantly.

The security forces also used apparently unnecessary or excessive force against both protesters and bystanders, Human Rights Watch said. A 49-year-old man told Human Rights Watch that a soldier shot him on Nelson Mandela Street in Harare: “l tried to explain to the soldier that l was not part of the protest, but he just aimed his rifle and shot me in my right foot.”

At Market Square in Harare, a soldier shot an elderly woman walking to a public transport station in the left shoulder, breaking her arm, a relative said. A uniformed security guard, 34, said five soldiers with iron bars beat him, breaking his arm, and told him not to go to work.

“The authorities should immediately put an end to security force abuses and allow for peaceful protests as part of the democratic process,” Mavhinga said. “That would signal that there is indeed a new dispensation of respect for rights and the rule of law in Zimbabwe."

(Harare) – The Zimbabwe government should immediately and impartially investigate the use of force by security forces to clamp down on post-election protests in Harare on August 1, 2018. Soldiers and anti-riot police were implicated in the deaths of at least six people and serious injuries to dozens more. Read more

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VIDEO - Breaking: Heavily armed anti-riot police stop a press conference called by @nelsonchamisa and @MDCAllianceZW to speak on their rejection of presidential results. Chaos as international are threatened by police, some MDCA officials assaulted. @hrw@povonewsafricapic.twitter.com/uqMEzgKSIn

— Dewa Mavhinga (@dewamavhinga) August 3, 2018

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s declaration of President Emmerson Mnangagwa as winner of the July 30 election late last night has not doused the tension in the capital, Harare. His official 50.8 percent margin narrowly avoids the need for a runoff election.

In April we shared a VIDEO of a #ZanuPF official warning about military violence & some cried “New Dispensation!” Now we are here: https://t.co/3RgeNXAWWKpic.twitter.com/H8G2a6BB76

— Dewa Mavhinga (@dewamavhinga) August 3, 2018

Since last night Human Rights Watch has received numerous reports of groups of armed soldiers on a rampage in a several high-density suburbs of Harare ahead of the announcement of presidential election results. 

The uniformed soldiers moved through bars and restaurants beating up patrons and directing them to “go home” in the suburbs of Chitungwiza, Seke, Dzivarasekwa, Glen Norah, Glen View, Kuwadzana and Highfields.  Witnesses told Human Rights Watch that the soldiers did not give reasons for beating up people wantonly and indiscriminately. 

Human Rights Watch spoke to scores of opposition activists who have gone into hiding fearing for their safety following a police raid at the MDC Alliance headquarters yesterday in which 26 people were arrested on charges related to the protests on August 1. Police Spokesperson Charity Charamba in a statement confirmed the arrests at the MDC Alliance headquarters and the continued presence of the military of the streets.  She said the police were overall in charge of security but would not comment on alleged abuses by soldiers. 

Chaos, fear and uncertainty about the future now dominate the situation in Harare and likely beyond. 

The Elders have called on all parties in Zimbabwe to show restraint as violence related to the July 30 elections continues. 

Kofi Annan, Chair of The Elders, the Kofi Annan Foundation and Nobel Peace laureate, said:

“The scenes of violence that have erupted in parts of the country after the election are completely unacceptable. We call on all those responsible to step back from the brink, and give the people of Zimbabwe the opportunity of a peaceful transition to democracy. The election process must be completed fairly, freely, and with the utmost transparency. Nothing other than the democratic will of the people should be allowed to determine the future of Zimbabwe.”

Read the full statement here. 

The scenes of violence in parts of the country are completely unacceptable. We call on all those responsible to step back from the brink and give the people of #Zimbabwe the opportunity of a peaceful transition to #democracy. https://t.co/INVpMIKpyY#ZimElections2018pic.twitter.com/oCQake7GhA

— Kofi Annan (@KofiAnnan) August 3, 2018

The opposition party MDC Alliance party rejected the results of the elections announced by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission which declared ZANU-PF’s Emmerson Mnangagwa winner with 50.8%.

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The Zimbabwe Security Forces and unidentified gunmen have intensified a crackdown on supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change Alliance (MDCA) in the aftermath of August 1, 2018 post-election protests in Harare, Human Rights Watch said. The police, soldiers, and unidentified armed men also beat up and harassed scores of people in Harare over the last few days as they searched for opposition party officials. Read more:

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Western Diplomats express grave concern over post-election violence/ human rights situation in #Zimbabwe, EU Delegation, @CanEmbZimbabwe , Switzerland Embassy & @usembassyharare. But Gvt says no abuses. #ElectionsZW@eueomzimbabwe@hrw@P_VanDamme_EU@MinisterSBMoyo@edmnangagwapic.twitter.com/k4K61vQa3u

— Dewa Mavhinga (@dewamavhinga) August 7, 2018

A disturbing pattern is emerging in Harare of masked and unidentified assailants beating, harassing and even abducting people because they suspect the victims know the whereabouts of senior opposition MDC Alliance officials.

For example, on August 5 at around 2 am, six masked men broke into the house of MDC Alliance Youth Chair, Happymore Chidziva. A woman in the house told Human Rights Watch that when she screamed for help, one of the men pointed a rifle at her head and told her to be quiet or risk death. One of the men slapped and kicked her.

1am phone call with @BitiTendai, a leader in @MDCAllianceZW led by @nelsonchamisa: "I am under military siege, holed up somewhere. Gen. Chiwenga is in charge. The international community shld know." Yesterday his car was shot at, vandalised. @burke_jason@simonallison@263Chat

— Dewa Mavhinga (@dewamavhinga) August 6, 2018

The attackers also beat up members of three other families in the house, then abducted two of the men. The masked men put the abducted men in a white double-cab truck and drove them to a secluded place along Masvingo road, then beat and kicked them for an hour before releasing them. During the beatings, the armed men allegedly kept saying, “The choice is yours, to tell us where Happymore Chidziva is, or to die.”

Four armed men also stormed the house of Mirriam Mushayi, an MDCA parliament member, in Kuwadzana at midnight on August 5 looking for her, but she was already in hiding. Witnesses told Human Rights Watch that the men allegedly had a list of five MDCA officials they were looking for.

The following day, armed men fired gunshots a car belonging to Tendai Biti, a senior MDCA official. Biti was not in the car at the time and no-one was injured. In a phone call with Human Rights Watch after the incident, Tendai Biti said, "I am under military siege, holed up somewhere. Gen. Chiwenga [Deputy president and Security Forces minister] is in charge. The international community should know."

There are other cases though in which the assailants are neither unknown nor masked. On August 6, seven policemen in plain clothes picked up opposition activist Jim Kunaka’s wife, Loveness Sithole, and his younger brother Godknows Kunaka, and detained them at Harare Central Police Station for several hours demanding to know Jim Kunaka’s whereabouts. Loveness Sithole told Human Rights Watch the policemen forced her to leave her three-month old baby at home and beat her and Godknows Kunaka during the interrogation.

The Zimbabwe authorities should immediately put an end to abuses by its law enforcement and security officers, guarantee security for all its citizens, and hold accountable all of those behind this wave of violence and abductions.

The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, a Constitutional body, @zhrc365: Condemns, in the strongest sense, the use of live ammunition & excessive force on protesters by the army on 1 August. @hrw@povonewsafrica@ZimHRNGOForum@MinisterSBMoyo@263chat@edmnangagwa@ZLHRLawyerspic.twitter.com/OtP2bXSEY1

— Dewa Mavhinga (@dewamavhinga) August 7, 2018

Zambian immigration authorities today rejected a claim of asylum by Tendai Biti, a leading figure in the MDC Alliance opposition party who fled post-election violence and certain arrest in Zimbabwe.  

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Zambia also rejected claims by five others travelling with Biti – lawyer Nqobizitha Mlilo, civil society activist Zachariah Godi, and opposition activists Tawanda Chitekwe, Kudakwashe Simbaneuta, and Clever Rambanepasi – who lodged their application for asylum at the Chirundu border post.

The six fled the violent security forces’ crackdown in Zimbabwe that has followed post-election protests on August 1. The Zimbabwe police issued an arrest warrant for Biti on trumped-up charges of public violence and allegedly declaring opposition leader Nelson Chamisa the winner of the presidential election in contravention of electoral laws.

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Biti told Human Rights Watch by phone that the Zambian authorities told him and his five companions that there were no grounds to grant them asylum and were planning to deport them back to Zimbabwe. Biti asked Human Rights Watch to help seek the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) urgent intervention to prevent his forced return to Zimbabwe where he fears for his life. If forcibly returned to Zimbabwe, Biti and his colleagues are at grave risk of political persecution, torture, or even death. If Zambia proceeds with the deportation it will violate its obligations under international law, including several treaties binding on it, that prohibit the return of any person to a country where they face a real risk of torture or other ill treatment (the principle of non-refoulment).

“It looks like they [Zambian Immigration Officials] have made a decision to hand us back to the Junta. We are truly in God’s hands,” Biti said. Zambian lawyer Gilbert Phiri is assisting the six to lodge an appeal in court against rejection of asylum and to stop deportation to Zimbabwe from Chirundu where the six are being held by Immigration officials.

Human Rights Watch has documented a pattern of abductions, beatings, and harassment of third parties by security forces and unidentified armed men on the trail of senior opposition MDC Alliance officials in Harare since the election. Zimbabwe authorities have turned a blind eye to these abuses and have neglected to take steps to halt the abuses or hold those responsible to account.

Now is the time for regional institutions like the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Africa Union, and the wider international community to urgently press the Zimbabwe authorities to end the crackdown and to guarantee the safety and rights of all citizens irrespective of their political affiliations, including Biti and his five colleagues. This includes respecting the rights of asylum seekers from Zimbabwe and the principle of non-refoulment, and not forcibly returning Biti and his colleagues or others to Zimbabwe without guarantees of their safety from political persecution.

Zimbabwean opposition leader Tendai Biti is now back in Harare after being denied asylum by Zambia and deported, despite his lawyers obtaining a court order to halt the deportation.

Breaking: @BitiTendai& 3 others deported from Zambia today in violation of court order & international law now at Harare Central @PoliceZimbabwe where @ZLHRLawyers there with legal support. @RefugeesMedia@Studio7VOA@violetgonda@YGwashawanhu@263Chat@ZULUBLE@kaajal1pic.twitter.com/eDmpQs5gO2

— Dewa Mavhinga (@dewamavhinga) August 9, 2018

Breaking: Lawyers just told @hrw Zambian Authorities have defied court order & deported @BitiTendai, @mlilonqo& Tawanda Chitekwe back to Zimbabwe. shocking disregard for rule of law by Zambia @EdgarCLungu@RefugeesMedia@VOAAfrica@ZLHRLawyers@263Chat@ZULUBLE@CyrilRamaphosapic.twitter.com/xWVv01etsO

— Dewa Mavhinga (@dewamavhinga) August 9, 2018

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An influential group from Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF party is calling for proponents of targeted sanctions against top government officials to be “punished severely.”

The group, known as the “war veterans,” have recently urged parliament to enact a law to criminalize the call for sanctions, with punishments similar to murder and rape. Speaking before parliament on Tuesday, a ZANU-PF member said those who call for sanctions should be given the death penalty.

The apparent targets of the proposed legislation include opposition leaders Nelson Chamisa and former finance minister Tendai Biti, both of whom have publicly supported sanctions against officials implicated in corruption and serious human rights abuses.

The United States first imposed targeted sanctions on Zimbabwe in 2001, followed by the European Union in 2002, over concerns of political violence, serious rights violations, and media restrictions in the country.

The US has not been expected to lift sanctions after the July 30 elections, which were marred by violence and alleged fraud. Last month, the Trump administration confirmed it would maintain sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, against 141 entities and individuals. “We want to see fundamental changes in Zimbabwe and only then will we resume normal relations with them,” Manisha Singh, assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs, recently testified to Congress.

Since coming to power last November – after Zimbabwe’s leader of 37 years, Robert Mugabe, was ousted in a military coup – President Emmerson Mnangagwa has repeatedly claimed the country has turned a page toward respect for the rule of law and human rights. Moving forward with the proposed legislation to criminalize sanctions proponents would not only be a major setback for free speech but would also fly in the face of Mnangagwa’s stated commitment to reform.  

Mnangagwa should dismiss the war veterans’ proposed legislation and instead take concrete action to improve respect for human rights and accountability for serious abuses.

Relatively peaceful national elections marred by disputed results and post-election violence signified that little had changed in Zimbabwe in 2018. The declaration of Emmerson Mnangagwa as winner of the July 30 presidential race, which for the first time in 30 years did not have former President Robert Mugabe on the ballot, was followed by a military crackdown on political opponents. Mugabe’s ouster by the military in November 2017 paved the way for his erstwhile deputy, Mnangagwa, to take over the reins of power as interim president, and then as ruling ZANU-PF flagbearer in the national elections.

On August 1, soldiers shot and killed at least six people during opposition protests in the capital, Harare.  Mnangagwa later established a commission of inquiry into the post-election violence, chaired by former South African President Kgalema Motlanthe. At time of writing, the commission had not published its findings.

Throughout the year, Mnangagwa and other high-level government officials made numerous promises to deliver governance reforms to mark the post-Mugabe era, but took few steps to demonstrate commitment to accountability, justice for human rights abuses, and respect for the rule of law. Mnangagwa, who has his own long record of human rights abuses, called on Zimbabweans in December 2017 “to let bygones be bygones,” paving the way for continued widespread impunity for abuses by the military and state security agents.

The administration has also struggled to revive the economy, and to effectively respond to the outbreak of cholera in August, which killed at least 50 people and infected thousands in Harare.

Freedom of Expression and Media

On October 29,  state security agents briefly detained and harassed journalist Violet Gonda at State House where she was officially accreditated to report on President Mnangagwa’s meeting with business leaders. On September 21, police briefly detained Pauline Chateuka, a Community Radio Harare journalist, for filming police officers as they arrested street vendors in Harare. On September 19, police also briefly detained Gilbert Nyambavhu, editor of the online publication, New Zimbabwe, and his colleague Idah Mhetu.

On September 24, a group of publishers, editors, and journalists met with senior officials of the ruling ZANU-PF party in the Midlands city of Kwekwe to register complaints over cases of intimidation and threats issued against local journalists by some party members. ZANU-PF officials urged journalists to report any cases of intimidation involving party supporters to them.

The Mnangagwa administration failed to amend or repeal repressive laws such as the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), and the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act. These laws were used under Mugabe to severely curtail basic rights through vague defamation clauses and draconian penalties. Partisan policing and prosecution worsened the impact of the repressive provisions in the AIPPA and POSA laws.

Women’s and Girls’ Rights, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity

Three years after Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Court declared child marriage unconstitutional and set 18 as the minimum marriage age, the government has not put structures in place to implement the court decision and ensure that girls under 18 are not forced into marriage. Although Zimbabwe’s 2013 constitution stipulates that “no person may be compelled to enter marriage against their will” and required authorities to ensure that children are not pledged into marriage, the government has yet to amend or repeal all other existing marriage laws that still allow child marriage.

During his State of the Nation address on September 18,  Mnangangwa said that the current parliament is expected to consider the Child Justice Bill and the Marriages Bill, which seek to provide a child justice system and outlaw child marriages. The parliament has yet to consider these bills at time of writing.

Critical steps have not been taken to address the routine eviction of widows from their marital homes and confiscation of their property by in-laws with little recourse to the formal justice system,  which Human Rights Watch documented in 2017. Many of the victims continue to struggle to claim rights for reasons unique to their status as widows. Few women formally own the property held during their marriage. As a result, they were unable to keep jointly held property upon the death of their husband.

Section 73 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, 2004 punishes consensual same-sex conduct between men with up to one year in prison or a fine or both. This restrictive legislation contributes to stigma and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. In September, a teacher at a Harare school who came out as gay resigned after he received death threats from members of the public over his sexual orientation.

Ahead of the July 2018 national elections, representatives of the LGBT community in Zimbabwe met with top ruling ZANU-PF party officials. The Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) advocacy group thanked Mnangagwa for this unprecedented meeting and for "understanding" them better than his predecessor Mugabe and the opposition parties.

Right to Health

The Ministry of Health on September 6 declared a cholera outbreak in Harare after confirmation of 11 cases. The government subsequently declared a national emergency after scores had died and thousands became infected. Between August 2008 and July 2009 Zimbabwe experienced Africa’s worst cholera epidemic in 15 years when more than 4,000 people died and over 100,000 were infected. The conditions that allowed the devastating epidemic to flourish in 2008 persisted in 2018: little access to potable water, inadequate sanitation services, and limited information on water quality.

Rule of Law

Authorities continued to ignore human rights provisions in the country’s 2013 constitution. The government did not enact new laws or amend existing legislation to bring them in line with the constitution and Zimbabwe’s international and regional human rights obligations.

The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission on August 7 strongly condemned the use of live ammunition and excessive force against unarmed protesters in Harare in August when the military fatally shot at least six people.  Security forces have intensified a crackdown on supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change Alliance (MDCA) in the aftermath of post-election protests in Harare. They also beat up and harassed scores of people in Harare as they searched for opposition party officials.

The whereabouts of pro-democracy activist and human rights defender Itai Dzamara remains unknown. He was abducted on March 9, 2015.

In October, prominent activist and director of Zimbabwe Peace Project, Jestina Mukoko, a victim of enforced disappearance and torture for three weeks by state agents in December 2008, finally received compensation after a Zimbabwe High Court ordered the state to pay her US$150,000.

Key International Actors

Following the November 2017 military coup, the leadership of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) called on Zimbabweans to peacefully resolve the nation’s political challenges. SADC leaders welcomed Mugabe’s decision to resign under military pressure, pledging to support future national elections. The African Union initially condemned the military takeover, but later welcomed Mugabe’s resignation.

The AU and SADC adjudged the July 2018 elections as peaceful and in accordance with the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections, which were established to promote regular free and fair, transparent, credible and peaceful democratic elections in the region.

International observer missions, including those of the European Union, the AU, SADC and the Commonwealth, issued a joint statement on August 2 appreciating the generally peaceful and orderly pre-electoral and voting day environment, but expressing grave concern about the post-election violence. They condemned vandalism and destruction of property and called on political party supporters to abide by the law. They also denounced the excessive use of force to quell protests and urged the police and army to exercise restraint.

On August 8, United States President Donald Trump signed into law the amended Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act, which renewed sanctions against the Mnangagwa administration.

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Zimbabwe security forces fatally shot at least five people and wounded 25 others during a crackdown on nationwide protests beginning January 14, 2019, Human Rights Watch said today. President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s sudden announcement of a fuel price increase of 150 percent on January 12 led the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions labor movement to call for a three-day national strike, which triggered the protests.

Protesters burned a police station, barricaded roads with large rocks, and looted shops in Harare, Kadoma, and Bulawayo. Government security forces responded with live ammunition, rubber bullets, and teargas, which they fired at the protesters and into people’s homes. Zimbabwe’s State Security Minister announced on January 14 that more than 200 people had been arrested.

“Zimbabwe authorities have a duty to maintain security during protests, but they need to do that without using excessive force,” said Dewa Mavhinga, Southern Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Those responsible for using unlawful lethal force should be promptly investigated and held accountable.”

In videos and images circulated on social media, a man in civilian clothes but armed with an AK-47 military assault rifle shot at protesters in Harare on January 14. Zimbabwe’s Information Ministry tweeted early on January 15 that the police sought public assistance to identify the man with the assault weapon shown in the video. Witnesses and local activists reported that uniformed members of the security forces fired on protesters in Epworth, Chitungwiza, and Kadoma.

Members of the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights told Human Rights Watch by telephone that on January 14, they provided emergency medical services to 25 people with gunshot injuries. They also said that two people in Chitungwiza and three in Kadoma had died from gunshot wounds.

The United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials provide that all security forces shall as far as possible use nonviolent means before resorting to force. Whenever the lawful use of force is unavoidable, the authorities must use restraint and act in proportion to the seriousness of the offense. Law enforcement officials should not use firearms against people except in self-defense or to protect others against the imminent threat of death or serious injury.

The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights reported that uniformed members of the police and army carried out apparently indiscriminate door-to-door raids in some Harare suburbs on January 14, forcibly entering homes by breaking doors and windows. The authorities then proceeded to assault some occupants and, in some instances, forced residents out of their homes.

Early on January 15, as the second day of protests began, internet service providers, including Econet and TelOne, shut down access to social media and internet. In a telephone interview with ZIMEYE, an online publication, Vice President Gen. Constantino Chiwenga denied that the government had issued a directive to shut down the internet.

But Econet issued a statement on Facebook on January 15, saying that it had shut down the services based on “a written warrant issued by the Minister of State in the office of the President and Cabinet, through the Director General Of The President’s Dept., responsible for National Security.”

Doctors from the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights told Human Rights Watch that shutting down the internet had disrupted their efforts to coordinate much-needed medical assistance for victims of police shootings. Blanket, open-ended shutdowns of the internet violate the right to freely seek, receive, and impart information, Human Rights Watch said.

“The Zimbabwe government should immediately restore internet and social media access,” Mavhinga said. “All Zimbabweans have a right to access information and peacefully express their views.”